Jagland under investigation: Nobel figure and the expanding Epstein fallout

Norwegian police have searched properties belonging to former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland as part of a corruption investigation linked to his past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, turning one of the country’s most prominent international figures into the latest political name drawn into the widening legal aftershock of the US document release.

The searches in Oslo, carried out on Thursday, followed material published by the US Department of Justice in January indicating that Jagland and/or members of his family may have stayed at Epstein’s residences between 2011 and 2018. Television footage showed investigators removing boxes from the apartment, a visual marker of how far the case has moved from archival disclosures to a formal criminal probe.

Jagland, now 74, occupied some of Europe’s most visible institutional roles during the period in question, serving simultaneously as chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and secretary-general of the Council of Europe. In the files, Epstein reportedly referred to him as “the Nobel big shot”, a phrase that underscores both the level of access the financier cultivated and the reputational sensitivity surrounding the investigation.

Økokrim, Norway’s specialised economic crimes unit, confirmed that Jagland is formally suspected of “aggravated corruption”. The inquiry focuses on whether benefits he may have received, including repeated use of Epstein’s apartments in Paris and New York and stays at his Palm Beach property, could constitute “passive bribery”. For at least one private trip, travel expenses for six adults appear to have been covered by Epstein, according to the investigators’ request.

The case required a procedural step at the international level. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers lifted Jagland’s diplomatic immunity on Wednesday, enabling Norwegian authorities to proceed, a reminder of how the legal reach of the Epstein archive now intersects with European institutional frameworks.

Jagland’s lawyer, Anders Brosveet, described the searches as standard practice and said his client intends to cooperate.

“Jagland wishes to contribute to ensuring that the case is thoroughly clarified, and the next step is that he will appear for questioning by Okokrim, as he himself has stated he wants,” he said.